Blaze turned. It took a moment to see his point. Concern flashed across her face. The whale sharks. The trouble she had caused him. “It’s different here,” she said. “This is for science. And we’re not affecting the lions’ long-term behavior.”

He smiled and stepped back to let her continue.

“Like a Christmas tree from the Apocalypse,” she repeated, and began to circle the tree as she narrated her video. “But it will be worth it to dart this lion. His pride has never been collared before, so we’ll be able to start a completely new study group. This is very exciting,” she said. “We will take blood and hair samples. Check and photograph his teeth. Address any injuries, and collar him with this.” She reached into the back of their truck and withdrew a lion collar. “This is a Total Information Project collar, designed by Perseus Group.” She zoomed in on the collar. “The collar gives the lion’s location, which we track using the TIPP app, first designed for elephants. We can also monitor testosterone and other hormone levels, as well as brain waves,” she said, and focused on a patch of silver metal inside the black collar.

•   •   •

After an hour waiting in the blind without success, Zoeller sent Isaac to the truck. The young man returned with a small equipment bag, a rope, and what looked like a radio. Zoeller set the box on the ground, plugged in a pair of headphones, and scanned through stations, pausing occasionally. He found the one he wanted and removed his headphones.

“We’re going to use a bait box now,” Blaze whispered into her phone. “What’s a bait box, Mr. Zoeller?”

“That’s one right there,” Zoeller said, pointing to the box.

Blaze rolled her eyes and turned her camera to her father.

“What’s a bait box, Dad?”

“It’s a digital representation of a prey item used to attract study animals,” Krieger replied.

“Thanks, Mister Robot. We will be editing this.” She spoke directly to her camera. “I’ve never heard a bait box in action before, so we’ll all be seeing and hearing this for the first time.”

Zoeller handed the bait box to Isaac, who flashed across the clearing and up the baited tree. He tied the device to a high branch. In moments he was back, his chest barely moving.

“You’re very fast,” Blaze said. The boy smiled.